Safety of Breast Pumps and Expressed Breast Milk Use Amongst Nursing Mothers and Healthy Term Babies: Narrative Review

Abstract

Objective: To review relevant papers and critically discuss the safety of breast pumps and expressed breast milk use amongst nursing mothers and healthy term babies.<br><br>Background: The growing awareness of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding has lead to many nursing mothers opting to adopt the practice. Emerging barriers to the practice, however, threaten adherence to it s required duration and exclusivity. A possible strategy that could address most of the commonly reported complaints is the use of breast pumps by nursing mothers and expressed breast milk for healthy term babies. Nonetheless, a scientific literature review is desirable for evidence of it s safety in the light of evolving and current facts about it s risks to maternal and child health.<br><br>Method: Databases such as Pubmed, Google Scholar, and International Breastfeeding Journal were searched for relevant papers with keywords like breast pumps, bottled breast milk, and exclusive breastfeeding. Through the process of meta synthesis, selected papers were read and interpreted. Similar concepts were subsequently arranged into themes.<br><br>Discussion: Inspite of the huge benefits and positive roles that the device could play in supporting exclusive breast feeding, significant number of users suffer discomfort, breast pain, and tissue damage. Also it s effectiveness in supporting nursing mothers to achieving the required duration and exclusivity has not been confirmed. In addition, the mechanism by which bottle-fed infants tend to over feed is unclear.<br><br>Conclusion: Further studies are necessary to resolve serious complaints by users of breast pumps and to determine the mechanism by which bottle-fed infants tend to overfeed so as to minimise the risks to maternal and child health.